Posts Tagged ‘health reporting’

Clickbait Journalists versus Clickbait Nutrition Influencers

September 18, 2023 — Clickbait journalists are taking aim at clickbait nutrition influencers and we wonder: Who benefits from this fracas? Late last week, the Washington Post ran a story exploring the phenomenon of dietitians who are active in social media. Their thesis: “Registered dietitians are being paid to post videos that promote diet soda, sugar and supplements on […]

“Study Finds” Breakfast Could Reduce Jet Lag – Or Maybe Not

September 8, 2023 — With the onset of fall, we are staring at the prospect of a good bit of travel. So this story indeed grabbed our attention. “A hearty breakfast could reduce jet lag in older adults, study finds” was the headline in the Washington Post. We like breakfast, so this seems like a win-win proposition. There’s just […]

Reporting Inflated Costs for Obesity Meds

June 2, 2023 — Reporters are writing a lot about the unaffordable cost of new obesity medicines like semaglutide. They’re doing a lot of really solid reporting. But unfortunately, they are also pushing out a false narrative and just about everyone else is coming along for the ride. Time and time again we see journalists reporting inflated costs for […]

Unwanted Weight Loss Is Cause for Concern (duh)

April 13, 2023 — This news just rolled in from the department of DUH at JAMA Network Open. Unwanted weight loss in older persons is a cause for concern. Perhaps some people have sailed through life without seeing a loved one wither when they suffer a devastating illness. But for most of us, this is not a big news […]

A “Simple” Solution for Diabetes and Obesity

April 10, 2023 — Writing in the Guardian, Jon Ungoed-Thomas tells us he’s stumbled upon a simple solution for diabetes and obesity. A low-carb diet will cure them both! In an observational study of patients in a general practice who volunteered to religiously follow a low-carb diet, they found that patients could lose weight and put diabetes in remission. […]

The Loudest Voices Inform the Least on Obesity

April 9, 2023 — Hello darkness, my old friend. Welcome to the sound of silence. Social networks, conceived to connect and inform us, have evolved in a way to polarize and misinform us. Loud voices dominate public narratives on a wide range of subjects and leave us little room for the development of well-informed and nuanced views. Certainly we […]

Burning Fat with Wild Blueberries in 11 Athletes

April 8, 2023 — This is nearly perfect clickbait that is just about meaningless for an average person in real life. Researchers did a study of fat oxidation after consuming freeze-dried powder from wild blueberries. They found an increased oxidation rate associated with consuming that powder in the 11 aerobically trained males they studied. So the press office at […]

Obesity Meds Cause People to Lose Their Minds

April 4, 2023 — Clickbait headlines are running wild on the subject of advanced obesity medicines – even in formerly responsible news sources. Over the weekend, for example, USA Today warned us that there’s dark magic in these medicines. It seems the mere availability of new and more effective obesity meds can cause people to lose their minds. They […]

Exuberant Claims for Exercise and Brain Health

March 31, 2023 — “Exercise with a buddy, your brain will thank you,” says the Washington Post. “Improve Your Memory, Problem-Solving, and Mental Processing Speeds in Just 6 Minutes,” promises Inc. This is just a small sample of the exuberant claims about exercise and brain health coming at us from news media. There’s only one problem. Some of it […]

Promoting Stigma for Seeking Obesity Care

March 25, 2023 — New research in BMC Public Health raises important questions. Does news media frame obesity care for young persons in a way that promotes stigma? Does this reflect the bias of the media itself? Or does it play to the bias of the public that consumes this reporting? Thematic Analysis of Reporting from 2014 to 2022 […]